The Last Generation
by DarkusWavern
Summary: 10 years after the DNA incident and 17 years after the Nemesis Crisis, Gingka's Generation has gone into hiding, watching over the new bladers. Zero's Generation has now joined them, training to become as strong as them. The last few generations have had no hope in becoming stronger... But once a new evil rises, will the Last Generation have a chance?
1. Prolouge

Many, many years have passed since the DNA Incident. 10, in fact. The legendary bladers have all but hidden themselves from the new bladers of Earth, waiting for the new generations to rise from their small seat of the world. After the Japanese team consisting of Zero, Shinobu, Kite, and Ren won the 2nd WBBA World Championship, these bladers of the second legendary generation also disappeared among their ranks, waiting for somebody to oppose the younger people and their beys. It is said that they fight to grow as strong as the Legenadry Bladers, and to be able to become strong enough to convence them that their time of hiding is up.

Nobody in these next generations have shown much potential - they easily gave up, and were never taught how to use their blader spirit; there was no one to teach them. They never fully understood their beys, and they never fully understood themselves.

Now, 17 years after the Nemisis Crisis, a new evil is rising from the depths. A powerful evil that has no chance against the legendary bladers - but does have a chance with those willing to serve them. As that evil is starting to rise, the 10th Annual WBBA World Tournament is being held. Many country's teams are being put together at the moment, but Japan is starting to fall behind. You remember that small town of Koma Village? Yes, the one where the legendary Pegusus Weilder was born? That is where this story of this Last Generation begins.

**A/N: Well, hello guys! This kind of story has been sitting in my head for a while. I kept wondering what would happen to those in the future of ZeroG/Shogun Steel and Metal Fight Beyblade. I was even more inspired when I saw the end if the last Japanese ZeroG episode. It showed most of the MFB characters (Kenta, Hikaru, Ryo, Ryuto, The Russian Team, Sol, The EU Team, The Chinese Team, Kyoya, ect.) all grown up and into their lives. It brought up major nostalgia, let me tell you. xD **

**EDIT: I need more male characters, guys! If yours is the best, then you will be able to get the spot as Main Protagonist. Please try to submit some! I cannot start the story unless I have someone in that position!**

**Anyway, here is the form:**

**Here is the form:**

**Name: (First and Last; middle is optional) **

**Age: (13-18 please)**

**Gender: (Male or Female?)**

**Personality: (This is a Major Factor. Be detailed!)**

**Eye Color: **

**Hair Color **

**Skin Color: **

**Face: (any facepaint? Scars? Glasses?)**

**Clothing: (Another major factor - I want to know what he/she looks like! If you want to, you can link a drawing of the character.)**

**Beyblade Name: (No pegasus, please. That means be original.)**

**Beyblade Discription: (What does the bey itself look like? What about its "bit-beast?")**

**Please note: Once you send in a form, you are giving me the rights to do whatever is needed for the character to fit the story. This is not limited to: Killing them off, putting them into a relationship with another character, turning them to the "other side," making them suffer, giving them family members, ect.**

**Also note that I will probably try to draw them out and that the way I draw them out will be the way I see them.**

**ANY FORMS IN THE COMMENTS WILL BE REJECTED. PLEASE PM ME!**

**I swear, if I get all female characters, I'm gonna scream -**

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy! I will probably update this in the next week or so; It depends on the characters I have. :)**


	2. Episode 1: A Knight in Red Armor Part 1

Koma Village - the spinning top village. Many people now think of it as a legend. They do have a right to believe - the said "strongest blader in the world" was raised and taught there.  
Bladers also believed that if one went to the top of Mt. Hagane - the where Pegasus once laid, incased in a stone cage - they would be granted the power and strength to become the next strongest. As these hopes rised, people began to give up. They started to believe that the only way to win was to become the strongest.  
They forgot about the Spirit of a bey.  
Even those who were once taught the power of Spirit soon forgot it in there search for strength. The small population of people who do live in Koma Village, however, know otherwise.

-/-/-/-

"Three!"  
"Two!"  
"One!"  
"GO SHOOT!"

After all, Beyblade has gone through many changes in the ten years after the DNA incident.

"Run now, Flame Swordsman!"  
"Go, Rock Cancer!"

After the two great Beyblading Eras disappeared, the bladers stopped trying to get stronger.

"Don't let him catch up, Swordsman! Keep running!"  
"'Common, Cancer! Do not let him escape!"

They gave up - something they never should have done.

A huge explosion ignited inside the stadium. The people in the crowd threw their hands up to block their eyes as dirt and sand blow up into the stands. A few moments later, the dust cleared, and the people in the crowd turned their heads towards the huge screen in the stadium. It was quiet.  
A second later, the small click of a stadium-out echoed throughtout the area. People gasped as the screen zoomed in to show a fallen Rock Cancer bey laying on the ground.  
Suddenly, the blader DJ got up from his current crouching position, took his microphone, and spoke.  
"Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like the winner of the Koma Village turnament is none other than the red knight in shining armor! Our very own Max Smith is the winner!"  
The crowd erupted in cheers. The dust, now settled, revealed a teenage boy with brown bushy hair and blue eyes. He was waving to the crowd, his red zip-up hoodie (with a black strip going diagonally across the front, two stripes around each arm and a stripe on the end of each sleeve) blowing slightly in the breeze. Underneath his hoodie was a plain black t-shirt. He wore a brown belt with black cargo jeans, and two red and white sneakers were laced onto his feet. He was tall, and looked about 15 years old.

His opponent, a kid with black hair, sighed in defeat as he went to pick up his fallen bey. As he was about to leave, he was surprised to feel a hand grip his shoulder. Turning around in frustration, he saw Max smiling down at him.

"That was a great battle, kid!" Max said cheerfully.

The kid grunted. "Well, of course it was. You knocked me out of the stadium in twenty seconds flat."

Max looked a bit surprised. "I meant that it was great to battle with you."

It was now the kid's turn to be confused. "What'd ya mean?"

Max kneeled down and looked at him straight in the eye. "Your Rock Cancer runs fast. Even though the battle was short, I still think that I had a great time battling you." He winked. "Just for a second there, I thought you were gonna throw me out of the stadium!"

The other boy sighed, then put on a half-hearted smile. "I guess you're right, Max." He opened up his palm to reveal his Rock Cancer. "By battling you, Max, my bey has probably gotten stronger!"

Max nodded. "Probably. But remember what we're taught - what decides the battle isn't strength or endurance; it's the blader's Spirit to keep on going, no matter what the cost! The world gave up, and became weak - but we stay strong and keep our Spirits bright!"

The boy was now smiling happily. "Let's battle again sometime, Max!"

Max smiled. "Of coarse!"

The crowd was still cheering when they left the stadium - Max to the right, and the other boy to the left.

Max sighed happily, recalling the last few battles that he had won in the tournament. Sure, they were easy, but people were still fighting with Spirit. It was rare to find someone in the world nowadays who had been taught such things, but in Koma Village, all who beyblade are taught about Spirit.

Heading home, he stopped by the market and bought a donut for his victory, though it was small. He'd have to tell his brother about the win in the tournament - he'd be proud, Max thought.

Finishing off his treat quickly, he smiled as he saw his home coming into view. Quickening his pace to a run, Max used his key to open the front door. Running in, he called for his brother.

"Jake!" He yelled. "Guess what!"

Suddenly, a bushy dark-brown-haired teen walked into the room. He shared the same bright blue eyes as his brother, and wore a pair of get wired glasses. He wore a plain grey button-up t-shirt and darker grey pajama pants.

He smiled. "Wha'd up, bro?"

-/-/-/-

*One Week Later*

-/-/-/-

Bang bang bang!

Maru woke with a start.

What the heck? She thought sleepily. She groggily sat up and looked at her surrounding.

She was sitting at a desk. That had a desk lamp. And a disassembled bey. And a clock. That read...

8:13 AM?!

"Shoot! I slept in!"

Maru jumped up out of her chair in a flurry, accidentally knocking it down in the process. She stared at it for half a second before saying "Later" to herself.

Quickly, she put on a fresh change of clothes and grabbed a brush, pulling it through her short magenta hair in small strokes.

Afterward, she ran up the stairs (grabbing her signature hat on the way) and unlocked the door to the B-Pit.

She was greeted by a massive surge of beybladers, all of which were begging her to take a look at their beys.

A little surprised, she sighed.

"This is gonna be a long day..."

-/-/-/-

Max looked up at the massive buildings of Metal Bey City, a smile on his face.

"Amazing!" He said. "People say this city is the place where the legends were created." He started to jog towards the center of the maze of buildings.

I wonder how many strong bladers I'll find here! He thought excitedly.

Soon, he stopped in front of a large sign that said "BeyPark Stadiums." Inside there were old-style stadiums dotted throughout the area, all filled up by bladers having battles.

It was the most awesomest thing ever.

Max walked along the path and was about to start running when he heard the tick of a fallen bey on the ground. Looking down, he picked the bey up and looked around for someone who would seem like its owner. Suddenly, a kid walked up to him.

"Excuse me, sir," she started. "Have you seen my bey? I thought it flew over here a second ago..."

Max smiled. "Is this your bey?" He held it out to her.

She smiled brightly, and took it from his hand. "Thank you, sir!" She exclamed happily.

As she was about to run off to some of her friends, Max grabbed her shoulder and said "Wait!"

She turned and looked at him curiously.

"What?"

"Do you think you could tell me who the strongest blader is here?"

The girl thought for a moment. "Uuuuuuuum... I guess I'd have to say Dio Trancy."

"Dio Trancy?"

"Yeah. Dark blue eyes, and super light blonde hair. He usually has a crowd, so he shouldn't be hard to find."

Max nodded, making sure to remember the discription. "Thanks, kid! Maybe we could battle some time?"

The girl nodded.

"Sure."

"Thanks!" Max yelled as he started to jog through the BeyPark.

It was easy to find Dio. The large crowd of people the girl spoke of were surrounding a stadium - with a blue-eyed blonde-haired boy at one end.

Dio Trancy wasn't what Max had expected. First of all, he was young.

Probably two years younger than himself.

The boy wore a white buttoned down shirt with light blue pants, with brown boots that almost came up to his knees. He also wore a black belt, which looked as though his bey equipment was held there.

Apparently, Dio was in the middle of a battle.

"GO!" He shouted. "Wrecker Virgo, Barrage Attack!"

His bey, a green and orange one, suddenly started attacking his opponent with a barrage of attacks.

As the other bey escaped, Virgo slid to the center of the stadium in a defense-like stance. The other bey, now at full power, swung itself towards Virgo.

It missed in the blink of an eye.

It flew up, and landed out of the stadium. The crowd (which was mostly made up of girls, to Max's amusement) started to cheer for Dio, some of the boys slapping him on the back.

Before anyone could go up next, Max found himself on the other side of the stadium.

"Dio Trancy!" He shouted over the dying cheers of the crowd. The blonde boy looked up, mild confusion and curiosity on his face.

"I haven't seen you around here, man." Dio said.

Max ignored that.

"I challange you to a bey battle!" He finally said.

A beat of silence passed, then Dio bursted out laughing.

"Oh, please," he started. "Like I said before, I haven't seen you around here. How do I know you're not just some newbie who wants to challange me for somebody else's entertainment. It's happened before, if you were gonna ask."

Max sighed. "Wow. You really are stubborn."

In a few seconds flat, he had removed his launcher from his belt and loaded it with his bey.

The crowd gasped.

Max's launcher wasn't one you saw on an everyday basis. Instead of turning the bey on its side like a wheel, the bey was loaded in an upright position. It even looked brand-new, which surprised many of the people present.

Dio smiled, a spark dancing in his eyes. After a few minutes of studying Max, he spoke.

"I accept your challange, newbie."

Max sweatdropped. "Is that really necessary?!"

Dio shrugged. "Look man, I don't even know your name. What'm I supposed to call you?"

Max smirked.

"My name is Max Smith," he said, raising his launcher. "And you, Dio Trancy, are going down."

Dio followed suite, loading his bey and raising his launcher.

"I don't think so, Max Smith."

Dio started the countdown.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"GO SHOOT!"

"LET IT RIP!"

The difference in words startled them both, but they shook it off quickly. Both beys started rotating around each other.

"Alright, Flame Swordsman, let's end this quickly! Start running as fast as you can!"

Swordsman then started to circle the stadium at an unreal speed, surprising Dio, who still had his Wrecker Virgo spinning dangerously close to the orange and yellow bey.

"Virgo, defensive position!" Dio yelled out. The bey then slid to the center of the stadium, regaining some of its lost balance.

Max smiled. "That still won't help! Swordsman!" He called out. "Ultimate Attack - Flame Spiral!"

As he said these words, the Spirit of Swordsman, a red-armored knight with a flaming sword, burst out of its bey.

The people in the crowd yelled in fear, confusing Max greatly. Had they never seen a bey Spirit before?

Before he could ponder on the subject any more, he heard Dio yelp in surprise.

Looking up, Max saw an angel-like Spirit rise out of Virgo.

It looked as though it had been locked away for a very long time.

Snapping out of the mini trance he was in, Max called out to finish his move. The Spirit of Swordsman ran in circles around Virgo, then suddenly unsheathed it's sword and slashed it downward onto the opponent.

The Spirits disappeared and showed Swordman attacking the green and orange bey from the side. Panicking, Dio called out, "Run Virgo! RUN!"

The bey then swiveled away from Swordsman and started to circle it.

As Max looked at Dio, he saw confusion and worry in his eyes.

He wondered what was wrong with his opponent.

"NOW!" Dio suddenly yelled. "Barrage attack!"

Virgo then suddenly started smacking Swordsman from every side possible, coming in at random intervals to confuse Max.

It didn't work as well as he had planned.

Max then told Swordsman to slam right into Virgo.

It was then when they both noticed that their beys were wobbling.

Trying desperately to get their beys to move, the two watched as the wobbling tops stopped.

At the same time.

Everybody was speechless.

Max tried to figure it out. Why had his Ultimate Attack not blown Dio's Wrecker Virgo out of the stadium? His stance was fine his launch was fine, but...

Then, he realized it. Both if the boaders had been confused when they had launched their beys, probably causing them to lose much of their power because of hesitance.

Sighing, Max slid into the stadium and picked up his Swordsman, Dio doing the same and picking up Virgo.

Max quickly pocketed his bey and held out his hand.

"That was a great battle, Dio." He said, smiling.

Dio smiled back, putting his hand out to shake Max's. "Thanks. You battled well, too."

There was something in Dio's eyes that Max couldn't quite figure out. It looked like... Fear...

Before Max could ask about it, Dio jumped out of the stadium and looked over his shoulder.

"If I were you," he called down to Max. "I'd try to learn the correct way to start a bey battle around here. You wouldn't want to go around confusing your opponents."

He then walked away, his little crowd following him.

Max climbed out of the stadium, realizing how hungry he felt.

Maybe some food would do.

* * *

A/N: And there you have it guys! The first part of Episode 1 of the Last Generation is here!

If you're wondering about the launchers, Max has a regular string launcher from the Metal Fight series while everyone else has the Zero-G ones.

Also - the "Let it rip" and "Go Shoot" sayings. I thought that because Koma Village was the place were Beyblade supposedly started, I'd make Max say the original term at first.

Any questions? Feel free to ask!


	3. Episode 1: A Knight in Red Armor Part 2

**First things first - review responses! :D**

**GalaxyPegasus14: I'm glad you like it. :3**

**siderisn: I'm glad I did! Max reminded me a lot of Zero, so ge seemed like the perfect character. **

**SilentWhisper43: Dio seemed like the perfect rival~ I'm glad you sent him in! To be honest, I was thinking about that, but then I realized that Gingka won against his rival when they met and Zero lost to his rival when they met. So I thought 'why not' and made it a tie. xD**

**shadowritergirl: Well, It depends if I need OCs later in the series. I got a lot of good submissions, and I'm trying to fit as many as I can into the story while still maintaining a good balance of OCs and cannon characters.**

**RyuugaAndSakyo: /dances with you/**

**Gingercookiesnaps: We shall see. :P**

**Tiger demon of light: I'm glade you like them~! No battle this chapter, but I'm looking forward to writing more!**

-/-/-/-

The journey to find some kind of fast food resturant didn't take long. The busy streets of Metal Bey City were dotted with signs, showing advertisements, maps, and current news.

Looking at one of the digital ads on a billboard type sign, Max saw a fairly large man with purple hair and sideburns wearing an apron and holding a spatula in his left hand. He was pointing to shiny golden letters, the words "The Best Burgers in the City" appearing, along with a logo that looked like (in Max's opinion) a messed-up hamburger. In larger gold letters, the words "Bull Burger" popped up. A minute later, the ad was replaced with some makeup commercial.

_Hmm_, Max thought. _Burgers aren't the best thing in the world, but they'll do for now_.

Running over to a sign nearby, Max looked for the directions to the resturant, and started walking towards its location.

-/-/-/-

"Come ON, guys! I told you to get in a LINE - I can't work if you're all crowding me!"

The customers of the B-Pit should have expected this.

Maru sighed with exhaustion as she was finally able to get the people straightened out. How did they expect her to work in such a noisy place?!

Looking down at the little girl below her (probably a sixth-grader, Maru thought), the mechanic carefully examined the bey held out to her. It was a basic Rock Cancer that you could find off any shelf from around the world. They were one of the cheapest beys, so parents usually bought one for their child as a starter - or, in worst cases, a toy to distract them from bothering them.

This bey looked in pretty rough shape. The preformance tip was worn down, the warrior wheel chipped, and as Maru took the bey from the girl's hand, she could hear sand rolling inside the spintrack.

Sighing yet again, Maru placed the bey back in the girl's hand.

"When was the last time Rock Cancer was in here?" Maru asked the girl in a flat tone.

The blader gulped. "Uhh..." She started. "...2 months?"

Maru scowled, then looked up at the girl, who looked like she was late for something.

Sighing, Maru smiled half-heartedly ans said, "Alright. I'm going to have to keep Cancer here for a while, if you don't mind. You can come get it in the morning, if that's fine with you."

The girl nodded, a smile growing on her face. "Okay! Thanks, Maru!" She suddenly turned and ran to one of her friends behind her.

The mechanic looked at the time - 2:16 P.M.

Almost time for her break.

She stood up on top of a stool nearby and said, "The B-Pit is closed until three, okay bladers?"

The customers sighed and left. They should have expected that, too.

-/-/-/-

After learning that he was going the completly wrong direction, Max groaned.

Running his hands through his hair angrily, he yelled, "How long does it take to find a stupid resturant?!"

A few onlookers glanced back at him, but most ignored the yells of the stressed-out blader.

Sighing tiredly, Max sat down on a nearby bench and checked the time on his watch.

2:16 P.M.

He smiled half-heartedly.

"Well," he said to himself. "Might as well get rid of this dreary mood and ask somebody for help." Getting up, he added, "I don't care if it's burgers at this point. Anything will do."

Looking around, Max's eyes landed on a group of people, who looked like they were in deep conversation.

Walking over to the group, one of the people noticed him.

"Hey," he said, catching the attention of his friends. "Looks like we have a visitor."

They all turned to look at Max, who had stopped about 3 feet away from them. He looked startled, as if they shouldn't have expected him.

The boy who had noticed him first spoke again. "Hey!" he said to Max. "Aren't you the one who defeated Dio?"

Max nodded wearily, hesitant. These people were probably some of Dio's fans.

"...Yes. Why'd you ask?"

They all broke into excited smiles, and before Max could say "Pegasus" they had rushed up to him and started to _congratulate_ him.

"Good job, man! And on your first try, too!"

"Dio's a real toughy! Nobody's been able to get even close to beating that guy!"

"Damn, you might even be able to be let into the Zero-G Stadium!"

"Woah, woah, woah, guys!" Max said quickly. "I was just gonna ask for directions!"

"To where?"

Max sighed as they backed off. "I guess anyplace would do at this point."

The group of people suddenly got excited again, and started pulling Max along the way he came.

"I know the perfect place!"

"'Common, let's go see Benkai!"

"Maybe even Maru will be there! She'd love to meet you!"

"She has been in a bad mood lately though..."

"To Bull Burger we go!"

Max groaned as he was pulled along be the group of kids to the famous burger resturant.

-/-/-/-

Sitting in old warehouses did a lot to ease one's mind - no wonder the Great Lion used to use the ones beside the docks as a base for the Facehunters.

Now overgrown with plants and unused by the people of Metal Bey City, the warehouses provided a spot for Dio Trancy to get away from people.

And maybe think a few things over.

_That kid bothers me_, he thought.

_Max Smith... I've never heard the name before. Why has he suddenly shown up without a warning and instantly wants to battle the strongest? I thought he was just a newbie... I guess I was wrong._

Sighing, Dio reached into his pocket and held up his Wrecker Virgo, the green faceplate shining in a ray of sunlight that had found its way into the room.

_Also, what was that image I saw earlier? Some king of weird spirit controlling my bey? No, that can't be... Max's bey was doing it too, but he wasn't freaked out about it... It was like it was completely normal to him!_

Growing in confusion and frustration, Dio got up from his laying position on one of the Warehouse boxes and started to walk out.

_I will find out where you come from... Max Smith._

At the end of that thought, a weird smile appeared on his face.

-/-/-/-

Max looked up at the sign of the place in front of him.

"Well, this is it!" One of the group kids said.

They all started dragging him inside.

"Common! Mr. Benkai has got to meet you!"

"Yeah! He'll be astounded to hear that you were so close to beating Dio!"

"He might even give you a free meal!"

Max, surprised, said "Who the heck are you talking about?! 'Mr. Benkai?!' Who is he?! A bla-"

He cut himself off as he got a look around. The infamous burger restaurant looked like a modern style cafe - but a LOT bigger. It seemed moderately crowed, with a few of the booths open along with some chairs. Right in front of them was a long counter, where a young lady, maybe about 20 years of age, stood. She looked very energetic with her curly blonde hair and bright red lipstick.

Wearing a long apron, she smiled and said, "Hello, and welcome to the Bull Burger Resturant! How many seats will you need?"

The one of the kids walked up and said, "We need to talk Benkai-san, miss!"

She looked at him. "Oh?"

He nodded, leaning in and speaking in a hushed voice, "We've got a blader I think he'd like to meet."

The waitress smiled and narrowed her eyes at Max. She looked at the kid again and said, "Ah, I know how Benkai-san loves you bladers." She started to walk away. "I'll bring him out to you right away!"

"Thanks, ma'am! We'll be in the conference room!" He turned towards Max and his group. "Well, come on! We need to find a table!"

He lead them all to a large room, where a long table lay in the center of the room. Around the rectangular table, about 12 chairs were arranged next to each other.

They all sat, about half of the chairs being filled.

The kids of the group were in deep conversation when the doors to the room opened. They all looked up, smiling.

Max was greatly surprised.

It was the man from the ad he saw earlier!

The purple-haired man smiled at them.

"How are my fellow bladers doing?"

-/-/-/-

**A/N: Well, that's done! xD**

**Maru's taken over the B-Pit (and gotten a bit of Madoka's temper, if you noticed), Dio's out sulking, and Max is surrounded by a bunch of NPCs. :)**

**Sorry it took so long. -.- I've been a little more into my art than my writing, which put this off a bit. Even though I've got a plotline, bunnies are chewing it up, making it difficult to concentrate on this. **

**Anyhow, I hope that ya'll like it! ****_Please_**** point out things I could improve on - it really helps! **

**Lastly, I think I'm going to make my updates about once a month, but hopefully I can get chapters done sooner.**


	4. Episode 2: Star Chimera Strikes Part 1

**Like before, review responses! **

**GalaxyPegasus14: Thanks~ Yeah, I kinda feel bad that I put all of that work on her shoulders... Gosh, even Madoka had a little bit of help from her dad... I have to give Maru a lot of credit, though. xD**

**siderisn: Glad to know! ^_^ Thankfully, this one didn't take an ENTIRE month to finish, but I'm glad you're patient enough to wait if that's the case!**

**shadowritergirl: Thank you! :3 Lol, I don't know... Great Lion... Hmmm...**

**Li-Chan126: TO BENKAI-SAN WE GO! :D**

**Havarti2: /writes more/**

**SilentWhisper43: I guess so lol. I will say he has a few... "Pranks" up his sleeve for later...**

**Now on to the story!**

**Max: ...Wavern?**

**Me: What?**

**Dio: Uhhhhh... You forgot the disclaimer...**

**Me: Then do it yourselves~ :)**

**Max and Dio: DarkusWavern does not own any OCs (yet), Beyblade itself, or characters associated with it.**

**Me: Done?**

**Max: Yes.**

**Dio: On to the story!**

-/-/-/-

Max couldn't get his eyes off the middle-aged man. _He _was a _blader_?!

Looking at Benkai's belt, Max's suspicions were confirmed. A almost brand-new launcher and bey case were clipped onto it.

Before he could ponder more on that subject, the group of people started speaking to Benkai all at once.

"Benkai-san! Guess who almost defeated Dio Trancy!"

"Yeah! That kid tied him!"

"His name's Max... Smith, I think..."

"We'd all think you'd like to talk to him, so we brought him here!"

The kid pointed a finger at Max, who had been quiet the entire encounter. Benkai looked over to him and smiled widely.

"Well, I haven't seen you around here, kiddo! Welcome to Metal Bey City!"

Max gave a half-hearted smile. "Thanks, sir."

The man smiled. "No problem, kid. And no need for formalities! Call me Benkai!"

Max nodded slowly. "Alright, then."

The older man looked down on him.

"So, you tied Dio?"

Max nodded, rubbing the back of his neck shyly.

Benkai's smile widened..

"Ah, yes... Trancy is a tough one. Not strong enough to enter the big leagues yet, but strong enough to beat all of the bladers who don't take him seriously. Getting into a tie with him is a pretty big deal - it either means that Dio's slacking off, which I highly doubt, or that you -" He pointed at Max. "- Are a very strong blader."

Max sweatdropped.

"Uh..." he started. "Thanks for the complements and such, but I came looking for a place to eat - I also don't know exactly who you are."

The kids suddenly gasped.

"_How _could you not know who Benkai-san is?!"

"Are you _crazy_?!"

"He's probably the best blader around!"

Benkai blushed and said half-heartedly, "Oh, come on, guys! Sure, I've been blading for about 20 years, but I bet there are bladers that are even better than me out there."

Before Max could comment on that, Benkai said, "Here - I'll go get some menus for you all, and after we get some food, we can talk about you and your Beyblading."

Max smiled.

"Sure."

-/-/-/-

Unbeknown to Max and the others, somebody in the back if the café had seen Benkai happily walking out of the conference room with a fat smile on his face.

The figure's bright green eye narrowed slightly in confusion.

After all, it wasn't everyday the great Benkai personally served somebody new in town.

A moment later, he was walking out of the café with a small grin on his face.

-/-/-/-

Benkai came back several minutes later with the food. Max had ordered a regular cheeseburger while the four other bladers ordered a large fry to share. While they were talking, the large chef sat down beside him and started a conversation.

"So, Max - how long exactly have you been Beyblading?"

Easy question, easy answer.

Gulping down the first bite of his burger, he said, "Well, where I come from, we're taught about Beyblading from a very young age - so I probably started at about four or five years."

"I'm guessing that was around the time of the DNA Incident?"

Max nodded, giving Benkai a strange look of confusion.

These days, nobody spoke of the Crisis or Incident as if they were just a normal day. It seemed as though those two words, along with "DNA," "Dark Nebula," "Nemesis," and "Spiral Force," were all words that were not to be spoken.

Ever.

The WBBA had never released any official information out to the general public, and bladers like Max were extremely young (many not even born yet) when these events happened. There was much speculation, of course - the Earth had witnessed the destruction Nemesis had caused, and the rumor that the great Pegasus Blader had been captured by the "Dark Nebula Again" organization caused an uproar from the blader's fans and friends. Only the latter recived information on the subject.

Seeing that Benkai was speaking of the event openly, Max got the hint that he was probably a "friend" of Pegasus. He quickly decided that that subject would be of discussion soon enough, but not now.

Retreating from his thoughts, Max spoke up trying to avoid that particular subject - for some reason it made him uncomfortable.

"So..." He started. "You said you've been blading for twenty years?"

Benkai smiled. "Yeah." Then he frowned. "But my first days of the sport weren't my best."

Max's head tilted. "What do you mean?"

Benkai sighed, going through unhappy memories.

"Believe it or not, I used to be part of a gang that stole beypoints when they were around."

Max gasped. "A facehunter?!"

Benkai nodded. "The facehunters of this city were very strong when I joined them. Their leader was the strongest - he was able to knock out any bey that was launched at him without a sweat. Anyway, now that I was part of a famed and feared group, I felt obligated to get better and better. We would track down the younger kids who would win the mini-tournaments and get their points. Soon, your rank in the Facehunters depended on those points.

"Then... I met a little sixth grader who'd gotten in the top ten of a recent tournament. He seemed like an easy target, so a few of my friends and I set out to corner him under a bridge."

Benkai then smiled faintly.

"That was probably the best mistake of my life."

Meanwhile, Max was trying to take in all of the newly obtained information.

Benkai - a blader.

This friendly guy - a facehunter.

That last statement didn't match.

Max looked up. "How'd you change from becoming a facehunter to a chef in charge of his own resturant?"

The older blader chuckled.

"That didn't happen so all of the sudden. You'll know all about me once I've finished my story.

"Anyway, about the kid - he was small, helpless, and scared. He had never fought facehunters before, but he knew about them. But no matter what, he was determined to win. Sadly, the kid started the battle out with a wobbly launch that was sure to make him lose. A few moments later, the bey was losing its balance and was unable to move. Right when I was about to knock the kid straight out of the battle, somebody else interfered."

The four bladers at the end of the table looked as though they were going to burst with excitement. Apparently, they had stopped conversing and started to pay attention to the story.

"Who was it, Benkai-san?!"

"Did you beat him?!"

"He must've thought he was pretty good if he battled you!"

"Oh, please! Nobody could beat Benkai-san!"

Said blader was a little surprised to have been interupted, but he still smiled slightly.

"Believe it or not," he started, "The guy beat me _and_ my friends - in only one hit."

The five other bladers (including Max) were wide-eyed and mouths gaping.

One hit?!

It seemed almost impossible. Max had had some easier battles in his lifetime, but even those opponents pushed back with at least a little strength.

That made him go down memory lane to the tournament he had won a few weeks ago.

He slapped himself mentally.

_Bad thoughts_, Max told himself. _Stay away from that day, damn it!_

Comming back to the present, the blader said "Continue on, please."

Benkai nodded. "We were all extremely surprised. Nobody had been able to defeat a Facehunter without putting up a fight until that point." He suddenly laughed. "When that guy showed us his beypoints, we ran straight back the way we came with our tails between our legs. When we told our leader about the new blader, I was sure he was going to pound us to the groud. Come to think of it, if I hadn't known Ky-"

Suddenly, the door opened and the curly blonde-haired lady came in.

"Sorry to interupt," she said girlishly, "But we're low on cooks, Benkai-san. They need you in the back."

The chef sighed. "Alright, I'll be back there in a minute." Looking at the bladers, he said, "Come by later today if you can. This is usually about rush-hour, but after the shops' closed, we can talk." They all nodded and started leaving the conference room. As Max was about to exit, Benkai quickly stopped him.

"If you need a place to stay," he started, "I've got some open apartments that you could use for a while - if you're planning to stay, that is."

Max shrugged. "I won't need it tonight," he said. "I'll come back later, though. I want to get a good look around the city, so I might be a bit behind coming here."

Benkai nodded. "Alright, then."

He let Max through, and as the said blader was walking out the front entrance, he said, "Maybe we could battle tonight?"

Benkai smiled widely.

"Something like that."

-/-/-/-

Maru checked the time again.

5:57 P.M.

The mechanic sighed. 3 minutes until closing time.

The rest of the day after her lunch break had been hectic. After leaving Benkai's café, the doors to the B-Pit had been surrounded by bladers wanting their beys fixed.

She had been able to get the beys with minor damages (small scratches or sand-filled spintracks) done right on the spot, but major damage (cracks, broken parts needing replacement, or worn-down preformance tips) needed to stay overnight so she wouldn't get distracted by the constant conversing of the people in the shop.

Now that it was starting to get darker outside, many of the younger bladers had gone home, leaving the older and less talkative bladers at the B-Pit. These were people that never gave Maru a hard time and always knew exactly what was wrong with their beys. Sometimes they'd even start a group conversation while she did their repairs.

One of the boys, who had a Beserker Leone with a small dent in the spintrack, started the conversation that evening.

"Hey, chief?" he asked to Maru.

Looking up she said, "Yeah?"

He sat down on one of the seats beside her and leaned on the counter. "Have you heard about the new blader in the city?"

Maru stopped what she was doing for the time being and said in a confused voice, "A new blader?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah. A few of my friends and I saw him battle Trancy earlier today."

The bey mechanic was surprised. "Dio Trancy?" She shook her head and started to carefully rub out the dent in the Leone bey. "I bet the kid got beaten pretty badly."

"They actually tied."

"Seriously?!"

"Yeah," he frowned. "It was a really weird battle, though."

"What do you mean by that?"

"First off, the guy jad a pretty weird launcher. It wasn't a Zero-G one like what you sell; the bey was pointing preformance tip-down instead of on the side."

"Huh," Maru stated. "It must've been at least 10 years old, then. The WBBA stopped supplying them when the Zero-G stadiums started to get popular. It's probably something that ran in his family if he still uses it."

"Alright. Anyway, when the two started out, the new kid said something like 'go shoot' instead of 'let it rip.' Any explanation to that?"

Maru thought for a moment, then said "It might be a cultural difference. Where he comes from, 'let it rip' is probably foreign to bladers. I've heard a few people talk about that on the WBN, and the ambassadors of some countries are trying to resolve it right now. But, I've got to admit, 'let it rip' is the most popular."

The boy nodded. "Alright, then." Suddenly, he pulled out his smartphone and held it up. "How do you explain this?"

Maru curiously took the phone and pressed the play button on a video the blader had pulled up. It showed a bey stadium in the outdoor beypark. There was obviously a battle going on with Dio and another boy (the newcomer, Maru assumed).

_"Virgo, defensive position!" Dio yelled out. His bey, which was wobbling, slid to the center of the stadium, regaining some of its balance._

_The new kid smiled. "That still won't help! Swordsman!" He called out to his bey, and orange and red one._

_"Ultimate Attack - Flame Spiral!"_

_As he said those words, a red-armored knight with a flaming sword burst out of his bey._

Maru gasped with surprise.

It... Couldn't be...

_The people in the crowd yelled in fear. What was this weird ghost of a creature?! Before they could ponder on that subject any more, Dio yelped in surprise._

_Looking up, the crowd saw an angel-like thing rise out of Virgo. _

Maru, who was suddenly feeling very wide awake, passed the phone back to the blader and said "Could you text that video to me? I'd like to analyze it a bit more."

The blader looked at her strangely but shrugged.

"Sure." Looking at his unfinished bey, he pointed at it and asked, "How long is that going to take?"

Distractedly, she said "It'll be ready tomorrow. Shop's closing. Now'd be a good time to leave."

The blader threw his hand in the air and started to walk out of the now-empty B-Pit.

"Fine, I'm leaving. Don't get your anger in a twist." He said.

About to close the door, he asked a question.

"What do you think that is, chief."

She looked at him with a lost look in her eyes.

"It's a blader's spirit."

"'Blader's spirit?'" The boy laughed. "What the heck is that?"

Maru sighed tiredly as he left.

"Nowadays, I'm guessing the answer to that is 'Exactly.'"

-/-/-/-

**AN: Well, there you have it! Part 1 of episode two is done! :D**

**Basic outline:**

**Benkai has a plan.**

**So does the mysterious figure.**

**Who's mysterious only if you don't get the episode name. .3.**

**And Maru starts to get what's happening.**

**ANYWAY, I had a LOT of time writing yesterday, and today I made a few adjustments. I think that compared to how I used to write, I've gotten much better.**

**PLEASE give me some constructive criticism if you think this story needs it! I think I am able to write WAY better if I know what needs improvement!**

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing!**

**-DarkusWavern**


	5. Episode 2: Star Chimera Strikes Part 2

**Review Responses: **

**GalaxyPegasus14: lol, I hope xD**

**siderisin: I'm glad I'm getting his character right. xD I was a little worried that I wouldn't, but I'm glad that you think so. :)**

**Alpha Dragonis: Here you go, lol. Nearly double the size. :)**

**SilentWhisper43: Ah, thank you for telling me! I would have never noticed that! xD You're completely right - I'm going to go change all those misspellings right now...**

**shadowritergirl: They'll enter the scene soon... Just... Not yet...**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter! Sorry it took so long! (Explanation at bottom)**

**Mysterious Figure: DarkusWavern does not own Metal Fight Beyblade nor any of the characters associated to it. **

**Me: If I did, the next season of Shogun Steel would be out right now. /cries**

-/-/-/-

As Max walked along the streets of Metal Bey City, he went through the events that had occurred that over the last few days.

After leaving his hometown of Koma (Don'tThinkAboutItDon'tThinkAboutIt-), he had traveled to a few to a few cities to try to find a strong blader. During is travels, he had heard news about the great Metal Bey City - the Birthplace of Legends.

People outside the city talked of it as if it were a story or fairy tail. Tall, neon skyscrapers reaching towards the sky, like rockets ready for a long voyage to the deep, dark depths of the cosmos. The main icon of the city, the Japanese WBBA Headquarters and Academy, stationed in the center.

A beacon of hope, some would say.

Max himself began to imagine the majestic buildings and skylines in his mind, and developed a fantasy in his head. He would go there, to the WBBA Director Tsubasa Otori himself, and challenge him to a battle.

Sadly, there were also rumors among those tales of the city that the Eagle had disappeared, as he had not made any World Championship announcements. Around this time of year, the Director would announce the dates and locations of the qualifying tournaments for Japan.

It hadn't happened yet, though.

This made many people angry. After all, joining the Beyblade World Championships was every blader's dream. Whether it was the hope to only make it on television (which was many of them, unfortunately) or to show off their skills to the world, only four bladers from each country could become representatives, making the qualifying tournaments hard to win.

Max had to admit, the Championship matches had been getting dull. As a child, he would marvel at the huge attacks the bladers could create, which would knock a bey straight out of the stadium. The most memorable battles, however, occurred when he was only six years old.

It had been about a month after the DNA Incident, with Pegasus becoming captured and saved by Max's personal idol - Zero Kurogane. The very same blader who had been the winner of the 2nd Beyblade World Championships along with the bladers of Team Japan. Anyways, one of the first battles of the Championship had been Japan VS Australia. Zero had gone up against a very strong opponent (Max had forgotten his name, apparently) and had soon won with his "special move" - Ifrit Burning Uppercut.

The flaming Samurai knight Spirit had flown from the bey and knocked the opponent into a wall, winning with a stadium-out.

When Max had asked his coaching instructor about Zero's Spirit, the man had smiled and said these exact words:

_"If your Blader's Spirit becomes strong enough, you will be close to becoming one with your bey. That means that you will be able to bring out that true, raw power your Beyblade possesses."_

He had the knelled down and put a hand on Max's shoulder, looking at him straight in the eyes.

_"For some reason Max, I know that you will be the leader of that last generation of bladers who know what the true power of the beys are."_

Now, coming back to the future, Max thought back to his battle with Dio Trancy. When the younger blader's Spirit of Virgo showed, Max could tell he was strong. Perhaps if Dio had known about his Bey's Spirit, he wouldn't have lost concentration and had an easy win - who knows?

Suddenly, somebody bumped into Max, knocking him to the ground and making the thoughts in his head vanish. Looking up from his position on the ground, he was about to shout at the person to watch where they were going until he saw the large building.

It was huge. It had an almost hamburger-like shape to it with the yellow and black logo of the WBBA over the entrance.

There was a large line leading into it. At the entrance, group of people who seemed to be looking at some kind of ID card were sizing up on a smaller kid. Getting up off the ground he went over to see what all of the fuss was about.

As he walked up closer, he could start to hear the voices of the people.

_"Look, kid, you can't enter if you don't have an ID from Benkei-san or from another Cyclone Bey Stadium."_

The voice was feminine, and as Max got closer, he got a good idea about who was talking.

She was a fairly average-sized height. Her eyes, which were an almost black (with a hint of gold around the edges, he noted) matched her long, raven-black wavyish hair. Her left bangs, however, were a bright red color that stopped in three points making it look like a fire.

Her clothes were another story. She wore a black bandeau with long, black skinny jeans, and a large white coat over her shoulders. On her feet, she wore white flat boots. A skull decorated charm bracelet and silver bangles decorated her wrists. Around her neck, she wore a shiny ruby pendant.

The kid she was speaking to, a small boy maybe about 12 years old, looked pretty scared with the girl's black eyes bearing into his. He stuttered.

"B-B-But I-I just want t-to go have a r-r-real battle in the s-s-s-stadium!"

The girl rolled her eyes. "That's what they all say, kid." She pushed him back a bit. "Get a little better, go see Benkei, and come back some other day with a certified ID. Scram."

The kid was about to run off when Max walked forward.

Even though he'd barely heard any of the conversation, he wasn't going to see that this kid was bullied because he didn't have some ID card.

"Hey!" He spoke loudly to the girl. She looked up at him a glared.

"What'd you want, kid?"

Max narrowed his eyes and pointed at the kid, who had stopped when Max had spoken.

"I want to know," he started, "Why this kid can't enter this building!"

The girl rolled her eyes. "You really don't get it, do you? I haven't seen you around." She smirked. "You're probably a newbie."

Max sweatdropped. "Why does everybody think that?!"

The girl huffed. "Maybe because you _obviously_ don't know anything."

She then pointed to the building. "This is a Cyclone Bey Stadium Building. It was created by the WBBA about ten years ago, and has a stadium unlike any other." She paused. "Only those who have 100 consecutive wins can enter, and those who don't qualify must leave. That rule was created about two years ago because of the large amount of inexperienced bladers coming into Metal Bey City."

She looked at Max closely. "By the looks of you, you're not from around here, and therefore aren't worth my time. Talk to Benkei. Maybe you can get an ID."

Max just stood there. He was getting a bit edgy by being around this strange girl, but he was glad to have the information. He sighed, turned around, patted the boy on the shoulder, and walked away.

Doing so, he heard the faint voices of the raven-haired girl and another feminine voice, which was much higher and younger-sounding. The one he just spoke with spoke first.

_"Damn, that was tense. I was sure that guy was pound me."_

_"Aw, you could've handled him, Kimiko! Your bey is soooooo strong!"_

_"Shut up, Saki."_

_"You're so awesome, though! How could I?!"_

Max sighed yet again and walked towards the outskirts of the city.

_Kimiko..._

He'd have to remember that.

-/-/-/-

A tall figure stood on the roof of a building next to the Cyclone Bey Stadium, his face silhouetted by his hair.

After hearing the standoff between Kimiko and Max, the figure watched the latter as he walked off.

_This guy almost defeated Dio,_ he thought. _If I win a battle with this newbie, then I will be able to add one win on my count of 89 consecutive wins._

He smiled, his visible green eye giving off a sparkle.

Next would be Dio Trancy.

-/-/-/-

The old outskirts of the city may have held the most interesting things at one showed a short but almost mythical history with the run-down buildings and rusting metal that had been scattered all over the place.

It had started out with abandoned homes. Not too old, but old enough to where the wooden supports were visibly starting to get soft, from termites to erosion, Max didn't know. He had explored a few of them, but he only come across empty rooms with ripped carpets that revealed the softening wood.

Not too far away from the homes, an old one-story building with bordered-up windows stood. It may have been a small drugstore (or, judging by various moldy hotdog and hamburger wrappers everywhere, it could have once been a buger joint much like Benkei's) and when Max looked around there, all he found were food crumbs and a bunch of rats.

Not much there, either.

Near the old building, there was a shipping dock that looked as though it hadn't been used in several years. The docks themselves creaked and groaned, and Max was pretty sure they would snap under his weight.

They didn't, of course.

Even the ocean itself looked old. There was seaweed growing around the supports of the dock, most of it looking pretty dead, and some floating a little way's off, making the water look like a swamp.

If you looked the other way, rows and rows of storage houses filled with old, damaged boxes were starting to crumble. Soon, Max had found a few fungus spots that led to what looked like a graveyard of a very old spirit. A crate that smelled of rotten fruit and fungus (with a hole that looked suspiciously like a bull head; many more had been busted out of boxes and some of the nearby buildings - one was even embedded into the ground) soon blocked his path, so he turned back and started noticing more holes in the buildings and crates.

Max soon decided to walk back towards the center of the city.

On the way, he suddenly felt a powerful feeling of smallness. The ground softly shook, startling him. Looking up, he realized that he had walked under the bridge of an old metro track, and the train-like vehicle had just past overhead. His quickly thudding heart soon slowed down, and looking up, he guessed it was the train that came through the city by the long bridge over the water. Realizing the sun was starting to get low in the sky, causing the city to have an almost orange hue to it, Max started to make his way back more quickly. This place probably had a curfew, and he didn't want to be caught after it.

Speeding up his pace to a run, he made it to Bull Burger at about 6:45, 15 minutes after closing. Thankfully, Benkei had already closed shop and was waiting outside the door. As the large man heard Max's footsteps slow to a walk and his breathing becoming slower, he assumed he'd been running around all day. Sitting up from leaning against a window of his shop, he said "Tired, kid?"

Max nodded, and stopped walking as he stood beside the older blader. "Yeah... I guess so..."

Benkei smiled. "Alright then. We'll start a little bit of your training this evening. I've rented you out an apartment, so we'll start the real training in the morning!"

Max looked up at him with a weird look.

"I thought I said I didn't need one tonight... And training?"

Benkei nodded. "Yep."

"I thought you said we were going to battle!"

Benkei shook his head. "I said 'something like that.' To battle someone like myself, who's been doing it for 20 years through 10 eras of bladers, you're going to need training - and a lot of it. If you only tied Dio Trancy, then you have no chance of beating me."

Max sighed. "I guess you're right... It's just..."

Benkei frowned. "What?"

The younger blader looked up again, a smile now on his face. "It's nothing; I'm just a bit tired, like I said before! I can do some training before bed, though!"

The older man sighed happily, as if remembering an old memory. He then spoke.

"You know what, Max? You remind me of some bladers I taught about ten years ago. They were the leaders of their generation, chosen by the leaders of the generation before them. They never gave up, and always relied on a blader's Spirit - just like they were taught."

Max smiled, then frowned.

"Well... Where I come from, that's what we're taught from day one."

Benkei looked down at him interestingly. "Oh, really?"

He nodded. "Yeah. From day one, we're taught that a bey battle isn't won by strength or stamina, but a Blader's Spirit - basically the connection between blader and bey."

Benkei was silent for a few moments. His smile widening, he said, "Then you've been taught well, kid." He then stood up and started to leave. "Let's go start your training."

-/-/-/-

They ended up where Max had been that morning when he fought Trancy - the outdoor beyblading area.

The two stopped, and Max said, "What're we going to do first?"

Benkei smirked and walked over to the edge of one of the Bey stadiums and picked up two metal buckets that were sitting there. He walked back over and set the two buckets down in front of Max.

They were halfway filled with water.

At first, he didn't get it. What was he supposed to do with these?

He stared at them for a few moments until it dawned on him. He looked up at Benkei with a deadpanned expression.

"You're kidding me."

The older man's smirk grew wider. "Yep. This is the first thing I do when I train young bladers. It sets the tone for what future sessions will be like an tells me where you're at in physical strength."

Max sighed. "I guess that makes sense..."

He moved forward to pick up the buckets and eased them into the air, his arms shaking a bit from the weight.

Benkei nodded in approval. "Alright. Make a straight horizontal line with your arms and hold them there until I say so."

Max did as he was told, bringing the two buckets to shoulder height. At first it was easy, but soon enough, his hands had started to tremble.

Benkei looked at him up and down.

His emotional strength is strong if he was able to tie Dio, he thought. His physical strength, though...

At that, Max's hands started to droop.

"Hey!" Benkei's voice startled him, causing him to abruptly look up.

"No slacking! Strengthening your arms will power up your launch speed - If you slack, then there's no point in this training!"

Max nodded quickly, straightening his shoulders. "Alright..."

He quickly dropped into his thoughts, all the soreness from his weak arms drifting away.

Benkei noticed it right away, as he had stopped trembling and had closed his eyes in deep concentration.

He had seen this before. The bladers with mentally strong Spirits were able to block out all the pain that would come to them while holding the buckets. That proved to be a problem, as most bladers would stop training with him because it was "too easy."

He wouldn't make the same mistake again.

"HEY! Wake up, this isn't nap time!"

Max nearly jumped out of his skin as he was rudely pulled from his thoughts by the sound of the larger blader's voice.

He was slightly annoyed as the trembling started to return.

"What was that all about?!" Max asked, narrowing his eyes.

Benkei huffed. "If you don't put all of your effort into this, then it won't be worth it in the end! Stay awake, and keep going until I tell you to stop!"

Max frowned, but straightened himself up.

Over the next few minutes, he could feel his hands getting shakier and shakier and his breathing getting ragged. There were a few people who passed by looking at him as though he and Benkei were crazy, but he ignored them. Soon, the sound of a small bey battle between two kids sounded throughout the area.

Max ignored them, too.

Right when he thought his arms were going to drop straight off, Benkei said "Time's up."

Dropping the two buckets to the ground, Max groaned in pain and sank to his knees. The water in the buckets (that had fallen over when he dropped them) dampened the legs of his jeans, but he didn't care.

Suddenly, he felt an odd feeling. Through all the soreness and pain, Max's arms felt lighter. Looking up at his trainer with a wide-eyed look, he asked "How long was I holding those things?!"

Benkei laughed.

"20 minutes straight."

Max's jaw dropped to the ground.

"You're kidding."

"Nope."

He smiled happily. "I feel stronger already!" He got up, threw his hand into the air, and said "Dio Trancy had better watch his back! A few more days of training like that will have me beating him in no time!"

Benkei patted him on the shoulder and smiled. "That's the spirit, Kiddo!" He started to walk back the way they came.

"Come on!" He called. "I'll show you the apartment!"

Max shrugged and followed him.

A bed would be nice.

-/-/-/-

They were now standing in the hallway of the apartments over Bull Burger. The door number - 365B - was printed on a dullish red door in gold-painted metal numbers and letters. Beside it, a screen-like interface came to life.

Max recognized it as a keypad.

Benkei motioned towards it and handed him a card.

"Here's the key. Let the Keypad scan it, and it'll let you in."

He started to walk away. "Wake up early tomorrow, Max. I've got to open shop at 10:00; your training will be done in the morning."

Max nodded. "Alright!" As he was about to scan the key, he called out, "Thank you!"

He got a muffled response - Benkei was already halfway downstairs to his shop.

Standing there for a moment and regaining his posture, Max let the Keypad scan his key, and after a small click, opened the door.

It was pretty well sized. To his right was a small kitchen with an oven, microwave, sink, and fridge, with a few cabinets. Separated by a counter, in front of the kitchen was a two cushion couch and a TV, like the ones you see in hotels.

On the left of the short hallway, another indent in the wall lead to the door to the bedroom. It had a simple double bed with blue hotel-like bed sheets. Beside that, a brown boxy in-table stood with a lamp on top of it. Also in the room was a dresser, a rug, and a laundry basket. There was also a small, empty closet. One other door lead to the bathroom.

Putting the bag he had been carrying all day down on the bed, he walked into the living room and jumped onto the couch.

He sighed.

It was nice to get a bit of rest.

-/-/-/-

Maru was confused.

Wait. No...

That was putting it lightly.

She was baffled. This new kid the had just waltzed up into town had brought Spirit along with him.

Where did he come from?!

She growled in frustration and leaned back in her chair, putting her hands behind her head. She was in the basement of the B-Pit at her desk, her homemade computer on her desk with the video the blader had sent her playing over and over and over again, with Dio and the crowd freaking out over the sight of Spirit.

Staring at the ceiling, she mulled over her thoughts.

It was sad, really.

Only a few years ago, the world was teeming with young bladers with fighting Spirit inside of their beys. Friends stuck together and relied on each other, one never letting the other down.

Then,_ they_ left.

The Legendary Bladers and their comrades disappeared off of the face of the Earth, taking the knowledge of Spirit with them. Nobody else was taught about the true power of the beys - and nowadays, nobody bothered to try and figure it out. Spirit was now just a myth mothers told their children at night. Glowing forms of constellations that lived in the sky, being held inside of a spinning child's toy? A wind horse that could fly at the speed of light and land a hit with incredible accuracy? A king of the jungle, once only a small, helpless child, being able to create tornadoes with it's speed?

Yeah.

Sounded a bit mythical to most people.

Maru had heard rumors from her... Outside sources... But she had never truly believed them.

_That's what you get,_ she told herself halfheartedly. _You didn't believe them. You never had time to prepare._

She smiled sadly.

_What a fool I've been._

oO-/-/-/-Oo

Max awoke to the sound of knocking.

He groaned as he turned in his bed and hid under his covers.

Wait a minute.

Covers?!

In a split second, Max had jumped out of his bed and slipped onto the floor. With a small _thud_ onto the wooden floor and wildly looking at his surroundings, the events from the previous day slowly flooded his mind. His thudding heart slowed down, and the blader got up on his feet, clutching his head.

"Dang..." He said to himself, looking at the door. What was that?

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_.

At the sudden knocking again, Max jumped. Wobbling over to the door with dizziness following him, he turned the door handle and was suddenly being looked down upon by Benkei.

"Hey!" Max cried out as Benkei walked in. "What do you think you're doing?! First you rudely wake me up, then you walk in here without saying hello?! What's your problem?!"

The older blader didn't answer him for a moment. With his back turned to Max, he said, "What time is it?"

Max sweatdropped as he checked his watch. "8 o'clock. Why?"

Out of nowhere, Benkei whipped around and yelled "Why aren't you awake yet, kid?! Training starts in ten minutes and you'd better be there!"

He then walked out, shut the door, and left behind a now very awake and shaken teen. Slowly checking his watch again, he saw that the minute hand had moved.

He then scrambled to get ready in the nine minutes he had left.

-/-/-/-

10 minutes later, Max was silently walking with Benkei to the park they had been in the other night. Because it was early, there weren't many bladers out, but some, Max guessed, were early birds wanting to get their battles in before they had to wait in lines.

It made him smile.

Soon, the two bladers stopped where the buckets had been dropped the night before. They were still laying on their sides and the water was almost dried up and gone.

Benkei patted the boy's back. "Today, you'll be doing exactly what you did yesterday - Except for the fact that they'll be 75 percent full, not 50 percent!"

Max's eyes widened. "Oh, come on! It was hard enough already with them being halfway full! Why don't you let me keep doing 50 percent for the next few days, then slowly move me up?"

The older blader looked as if he had been highly offended. "Are you saying my training isn't good enough?"

Max suddenly got a bad feeling in his gut.

_Here it comes._

"I-I'm not saying that-"

"OF COURSE YOU ARE!" Benkei suddenly shouted. The bladers that had been battling in the park stopped what they were doing and looked over to see what the fuss was about.

"YOU are saying that the training I USED to train ZERO KUROGANE is too _TOUGH FOR YOU?!_"

"NO, I'M NOT - Wait..." The younger blader's mind stopped.

Zero Kurogane?

Zero Kurogane?!

"Wait a minute..." Max looked up at Benkei's triumphant face.

"Are you telling me that YOU trained _the_ Zero Kurogane?"

Benkei smirked "Of course I am. I wouldn't lie to you! To add on to that list, I've trained Ren Kurenai, Shinobu Hiryuin, the two Unabara Brothers, and last but _certainly_ not least, the great Sagittario user Kenta Yumiya at _12 years old!_"

As Benkei listed off the names of all of those great and powerful bladers, all doubt that he once had in the man's training vanished. If little Kenta was able to withstand such training at twelve, _surely_ Max could at sixteen?

"Alright!" Max finally said. "If you were the one to train all of those bladers, then I'll be able to withstand it, too!"

Benkei smiled. "That's the spirit, Max! Now, go fill those buckets of water up to three quarters full, then get back here so I can time you!"

-/-/-/-

"And... Time's up!"

Max tiredly dropped the two buckets, which landed on the ground and tipped over, just like the day before. The blader sat on the ground, fell over, and laid back as the morning sun shined down on him.

"How long?" He asked, worn out.

"Fifteen minutes, exactly." Benkei said, starting to walk away.

In a hurry, Max got up and asked, "Hey! Where are you going?!"

Benkei smiled and said, "I gotta go open shop and make sure my employees are there on time! I'll maybe see you later!'

Max nodded. "Alright!"

"Oh!"

Max turned around and looked at Benkei again, who had called back to him.

"What?"

The older smiled. "Welcome to Metal Bey City!"

Max watched as his new trainer walked away, then smiled.

Maybe it was worth his time to come here.

It was then when he got the feeling he was being watched. He slowly turned and saw that the entire Beystadium area was empty - that was unusual for such a large city. He soon shrugged off the feeling as a group of friends entered the park. They looked young, probably about 11-12 years old.

When they started batting, however, it was hard to watch.

Their launchers were crooked and whenever they pulled on their ripcords, the beys never got enough spin and only lasted about 5 seconds, ending in a sleep-out.

_Maybe I should go help them_, he thought. As he made his way over to the kids, the hair on the back of his neck stood up straight as he realized somebody was behind him. He stood still, then slowly turned and looked at the culprit.

It was a boy about his age. He wore a kimono-style shirt with elbow-length sleeves, tucked into dark blue baggy pants. He had white bandages up to his knees (probably for looks, Max thought), and black ankle-high boots with red upper parts. A red belt diagonally crossed his hips for his bey gear, and a black one was holding up his pants. The boy's hair was a light blue tied up in a samurai top-knot. he had bangs covering up his left eye, but the right one was a bright green.

_What does he want? He's obviously a blader,_ Max thought curiously, noting the belt and bey gear..

"Can I help you?"

The teen just stood there, studying him.

Max sweatdropped. "Hello?"

Suddenly, the blue-headed blader whipped out his launcher and a bey and plainly said, "I challenge you to a bey battle. Do you accept?"

Max, startled, said, "Sure.. I accept."

They both moved to the nearest stadium, and Max readied his launcher. As he drew out Flame Swordsman, he thought he felt a scratch on the surface of the Metal Wheel, but he pushed it out of his mind.

The stranger started the countdown.

"3."

"2."

"1."

"LET IT RIP!"

Max was glad he remembered the cultural difference right at the last second as his bey slid cleanly off of his launcher and started circling the stadium. The opponent's bey, a black and silver one, followed Swordman's path.

"Alright!" Max shouted to his bey, "Let's end this quick! Flame Swordsman!"

Said bey started to gain speed, soon starting to overlap the opponent.

The other blader just stood there calmly, which unnerved Max greatly.

"Okay, Swordsman, ram into the opponent!"

The bey did so, and as it did, it blew up a bunch of dust, resulting in the beys now being seen for a moment. When it cleared, Max was surprised to see that the bey was still standing as though it had not taken a hit at all.

"What is that bey?!" Max asked himself.

The other blader answered in a calm voice. "That, Max Smith, is my Star Chimera W105ES, a very strong stamina-type bey."

Max looked up from the battle and said, "Thanks for introducing your bey and its statistics, but I'd rather know who you are."

The teenager shrugged, indifferent. "My name is Arashi Hikou. With my Star Chimera, I'll be able to defeat you, then I'll be one step closer to being able to get an ID and use the Cyclone Bey Stadium."

"Arashi Hikou?" Max said. "Don't you have to have 100 consecutive wins to get an ID?"

How strong was this guy?!

Arashi smiled. "Look, man, I've been able to gain 89 wins in a row so far. If I defeat you, then that means I have a shot at beating Dio Trancy - If I beat him, that will get me access to the stadium immediately.

"Max narrowed his eyes. "And what happens if I beat you?"

"Well," Arashi started, "That means that I'll have to start over, and you'll have one win. If you actually used your head, you could've figured it out yourself. Chimera!"

The bey suddenly unleashed a barrage of attacks on Swordsman, causing the attack-type to start to wobble.

"Swordsman!" Max cried out. The bey was able to regain some of its balance by slowing down, making Chimera spin ahead.

Max sighed. Star Chimera was certainly a strong bey, but, being a stamina type, it had a disadvantage to his own attack type.

_Sharp performance tips are known to not have great balance, _Max thought quickly. _Chimera has an extra sharp tip, so it should be easy to knock him around._

"Alright Swordsman, I've got a plan! Try to gain up speed again!" The bey obeyed, glowing with flames and creating a ring of fire around the stadium while Star Chimera was having trouble.

The wind currents being generated by Swordsman were throwing the black and silver stamina-type bey back and forth, causing it to wobble dangerously.

Arashi didn't seem fazed, the look of indifference still printed on his face. He sighed.

"Come on, is that all you've got?"

Max frowned, then smirked. "Why, you afraid? I haven't even gotten started yet!"

"I'm not afraid," Arashi stated. "Why would I? This is obviously all you've got." He sighed. "Guess I'll have to end this now. Star Chimera!"

The bey suddenly cut through the currents and soon stood in the middle of the stadium.

"Special Move! _Lion's Claw Attack!"_

But Max was ready with a counter.

"Ultimate Attack! _Flame Spiral!"_

The two Spirits of the beys - a Red Knight and a Silvery 3-headed Chimera - rose out of the tops.

Arashi seemed not to notice the Spirit beast and watched with a smirk as Chimera smashed into Swordsman.

The Spirits themselves did a much more spectacular preformance. The red Swordsman unsheethed its flaming sword and arched it in front of itself. Flames flew at Chimera, who jumped up, and, with the lion's head roaring, lashed its claws out at the caped knight.

_Crack._

A sudden explosion flew from the beys as they preformed their attacks, causing the stadium to become completely invisible.

Max prayed that his bey was still standing as the dust cleared. On the other side, Arashi's smirk grew wider.

"Looks like I win, newbie!"

"I wouldn't think so."

The blunett's eyes widened at Max's words.

"What do you mean?!"

Max smiled. "Your bey isn't spinning."

The dust settled, revealing Star Chimera knocked over in the center of the stadium with Flame Swordsman spinning erratically near it. A few moments later, said bey slept out.

Arashi subtlety ticked.

"How could I have been beaten by this guy?" He asked himself harshly. "I've gotten stronger - and I saw his battle with Dio! How did he get so strong in such a short amount of time?!"

Max thought about that.

Had Benkei's training really helped that much?!

He then jumped into the stadium to grab his bey. As he was about to stuff it into his pocket like he usually did, he felt something wrong with it. Curiously pulling it out of his pocket and opening his hand, he gasped in shock.

Flame Swordsman had been almost completely shattered.

_How could this happen?!_

-/-/-/-

**A/N: That is why one must always listen to Madoka and TAKE CARE OF THEIR BEYBLADE. =.=**

**To sum it all up: Max explores Metal Bey City, meets later characters at the Cyclone Bey Stadium, does a little training with Benkei, gets an apartment, trains more with Benkai in the morning, and battles Arashi soon after he leaves, causing Flame Swordsman to almost shatter from not being ever repaired.**

**There you have it. :)**

**I tried to get this in a little earlier, but I was #1.) too focused on writing the script than the actual story, #2.) I got sick twice, #3.) I spent more of my time on dA then FF, and #4.) After going through our garage, we found a bunch of DC and Marvel Comics in good condition, so my parents made me look up the prices for ALL of them.**

**I still have trading cards to get through...**

**Also, believe it or not, I actually bought my first Beyblades a few days ago. :D It's just Ronin Dragoon and Samurai Pegasus, but DAMN they're awesome! (Dragoon's the best though)**

**I can't believe I never watched the show when it was on TV. -sobs- I have a faint memory of seeing Gingka battling someone (probably Kenta) by a riverbed and thinking "Wtf is this?" And never thinking about it again.**

**ALL THE REGRETS THOUGH...**

**Anyways, I've re-read the previous chapters and encountered a LOT of errors and plot holes. So I'll be going back and changing those soon.**

**Lastly, I have a poll on my profile about what I should start making a script for so when I finish with this (or when I'm half-way done) I'll have something that won't take two months to write. However, if you guys want a one-shot kinda thing, I'll write it along side this story. .3.**

**I hope I can update soon, and constructive criticism is always welcome and wanted!**

**-DarkusWavern**


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